How Should I Set My Thermostat for When I’m At Work?

For many hours a day you’re away at work, or perhaps at school. Yet your heating or air conditioning keeps working, with nobody home. This uses a lot of energy and costs you money. You can dramatically reduce this cost by adjusting the thermostat up or down as you leave for work and setting it back to your favored temperature when you come home. But how much should you adjust it? 

Here’s what the Department of Energy has to say about thermostat settings: 

You can save up to 10% a year on heating and cooling by simply setting your thermostat down 7°-10°F for eight hours a day from its normal setting. The percentage of savings from setback is greater for buildings in milder climates than for those in more severe climates. 

The smaller the difference between the both temperatures, the lower your total cooling bill should be. You can easily save energy in the winter by setting the thermostat to about 68°F while you’re awake and adjusting it lower while you’re sleeping or away from home. In the summer, you can practice the same strategy with central air conditioning by keeping your house warmer than normal when you are away and adjusting the thermostat to a setting as high as you can manage comfortably when you are at home and want cooling and to ensure humidity control if needed. 

You may have been told that doing these adjustments aren’t worth it because your comfort system has to work harder to get back to your desired temperature, undoing your savings, but the energy department puts that notion to rest, especially for heating: “A common misconception associated with thermostats is that a furnace works harder than normal to warm the space back to a comfortable temperature after the thermostat has been set back, resulting in little or no savings. In fact, as soon as your house drops below its normal temperature, it will lose energy to the surrounding environment more slowly.” 

Programmable and Smart Thermostats 

Regardless of the benefits of adjusting your thermostat every time you go to work, it’s easy to overlook in the rush of getting ready and on your way. This is one benefit of programmable and smart thermostats. You can set your thermostat to automatically move to a different temperature across your regular work hours. And with a smart thermostat, you can increase or decrease the temperature (or the programming schedule) remotely. This is especially helpful if you’ve forgotten to change the setting before leaving for a trip. 

Remember the Pets 

If you have pets at home, consider their comfort too. Cats and dogs with heavy fur won’t be comfortable with high temperatures. And pets with short fur might not be happy with cold temperatures. The same applies to tropical birds, fish and reptiles. Since temperature tolerances vary widely by breed and species, look them up for your pets. 

Other Advantages of Adjusting Your Thermostat for When You’re Away 

• Carbon emissions – The harder you operate your heating and air conditioning, the more carbon emissions you generate. Conserving energy minimizes air pollution and greenhouse gasses. 
• HVAC Longevity – Overusing your HVAC unit can reduce its life span and cause increased maintenance to be necessary. It also means the air filter will clog up faster, making your air less clean. 

If you have any questions about your air conditioner settings, or if you need HVAC repair or maintenance, call the pros at Donelson Air Service Experts, a big company with homegrown heart. We’re passionate about making the world a cozy place to live. Whether we’re warming, cooling or making the water run, we take great pride in keeping our customers and communities comfortable and satisfied. 

Experts — it’s in our name and central to our work. We work tirelessly to help each team member become a skilled craftsman. We work with the best and provide training, opportunities and reinforcement, so our teams can learn, grow and be ready for any kind of challenge thrown their way. 

Our combined business strength and people separate us from other service companies. With over 4,000 team members on board, we can deliver and innovate better than the competition. Our can-do, family attitude energizes our teamwork and helps us get the job done on time, and right — the first time. 

Our fusion of company size and individual expertise means we can do more with the next great idea … which may come from anywhere and anyone. We are reinventing the industry by harnessing each team member’s greatest ideas. That means our teams and customers can rest assured we’re moving, innovating, delivering, and in it for the long haul, through the busy times and beyond. 

We are Donelson Air Service Experts! Delivering strength, knowledge and support over every season.